Fated Change
by dragonskinslippers
Summary: An in-detail story about how Harry's parents made the change from unrequited love to "Twoo Wuv." The name of the character I created- Venois- is pronounced "Ven-wah". That's for all those like me who just have to know. Please Read and Review! Thanks
1. Hogwart's Once Again

James hefted his trunk onto the train next to Sirius before jumping on. Making their way over to what had become "the Marauders compartment", James couldn't help but laugh a little as he saw the first years and their mothers. Setting his trunk down on the luggage rack, he looked out the train window and watched a dark curly-haired boy with a tearful mother who kept hugging him and straightening his mussed hair fondly.

James shook his head with a grin. "Padfoot, remember when we were first years?" Sirius grunted as he slid his trunk onto the luggage rack.

James leaned back in his seat, the memories flooding him. "My mother was so worried, exactly like her." He said, pointing to the woman outside the train. "And she kept telling me to behave and listen to the professors and all that." He shook his head again. "It feels like only yesterday, doesn't it?" He asked, looking at Sirius.

Sirius stared at him, and sat down on the plush seat across from him. "It feels like only _yesterday_ when you were acting the 15-year-old schoolboy you are, not an old granny reliving her childhood."

James laughed as the feeling of nostalgia left him. He ran his fingers through his hair, rumpling it. "You're right, we've got loads of… time." His voice trailed away as Lily Evans walked past their compartment.

"Hold on a second?" He didn't wait for Sirius to answer, but jumped up and started out of the compartment.

Sirius caught him just before he stepped out. "Whoa, hold on." He said, looking at James. "This is Evans you're talking about. Why don't you just let her settle in before she gets the daily dose of Prongs?"

James stared at him.

Sirius continued, his voice calm like a doctor's- "As you said, you've got loads of time. What's the rush?"

James took a deep breath. "You're right." He said, turning to look wistfully at Lily's retreating figure.

_I worked all summer on getting over her, but now…_

Lily paused in front of an open compartment door, laughing as someone called out to her. James watched closely as the sunlight poured in through the train window, covering her so she appeared completely bathed in light. The golden streaks in her auburn hair shined, and she turned slightly until she could see James watching her. Her laugh died when she saw him, and 

her emerald green eyes held his gaze for a millisecond before she turned around and walked swiftly to her compartment.

James started to feel the familiar ache in his chest, the one that he felt whenever he was around her.

_There's something so surreal about her; the way she walks, the way her voice sounds. Her milky skin, like an angel… and her eyes are so brilliantly expressive…sparkling with mirth, or glinting in anger…_

Sirius whistled softly. "You've got your work cut out for you, mate." He said sympathetically.

They reentered their compartment and sat down, James still in a daze. He shook of the feeling and held his head up high with determination in his eyes. "This will be the year-"

"-that Lily Evans will _finally _realize she's in love with you." Remus finished his sentence as he turned into the open doorway of the compartment, Peter trailing him closely.

James grinned. "And cheerio to you too, mate."

"So, Moony," He asked as Remus set his trunk down, "how was _your_ summer?"

"Overall, not bad." He shook his dirty blond hair out of his eyes. "Except I was staying with my cousins," he paused and looked at James, "-the ones who don't know I'm a werewolf- and when full moon came around I could barely get away even on the pretense of a sick stomach."

James leaned forward and clapped him on the shoulder thoughtfully. "Speaking of which, I think we'll finally figure it out this year."

Remus and Sirius rolled their eyes.

James stared at him in mock amazement. "What, you don't believe me?"

Remus shrugged.

James continued- "After two years straight of me telling you that I had found the missing link, and letting you down every time, you still don't believe me?" He rumpled his hair as the other Marauders laughed.

Remus laughed. "I don't blame you, Prongs. I know Animagi is one of the most difficult arts of Transfiguration to master."

James shook his head, and his eyes filled with determination again. "But seriously, we're going to figure it out."

Remus nodded slowly.

He turned to Sirius. "So, Padfoot, how was your summer?"

James smirked. "It couldn't have been too bad. He could have wandered over to Prentice's house any old time."

Sirius raised one eyebrow, the rest of his face not moving a muscle. "Venois? Why would I want to do that? Maybe I've gotten over her."

James snorted. "That's about as likely as me getting over Lily."

Sirius broke down, grinning sheepishly.

"You spent all summer with Venois?" Remus persisted.

Sirius groaned and leaned his head back into the seat. "Actually, no. My mother made us spend a month at my cousin Bella and Cissy's house." He chuckled darkly. "Not to mention my own brother, with his stupid superiority complex."

Suddenly Peter laughed aloud, looking at Sirius. "I get it. Instead of 'inferiority complex. '"

The other three Marauders looked at each other in before bursting out laughing.


	2. Friends, Glorious Friends

Lily sat in a Hogwarts' train compartment with Venois Prentice and Ginger Laxdale, her two best friends.

She was flipping through a Potions textbook, not seeing the pages. She was actually lost in thought, musing over seeing Potter staring at her from across the train. She shifted in her seat in annoyance. Surely he did that just to irritate her. There was no way he actually liked her as much as he claimed.

Well, she wasn't going to let that conceited prat of a human being get to her anyhow.

"How was your summer, Ginger?" She asked the brunette who was currently lowering her huge bright red trunk onto the luggage rack with the Levitation charm she had placed on it.

Ginger sat down across from Lily and smiled, her dimples appearing on her cheeks. "Absolutely wonderful." She said with a satisfied sigh, leaning her head back on her seat.

Lily widened her eyes, surprised at the enthusiasm in the reply. "Who did you meet?" She asked curiously.

Ginger's face immediately took on an expression of mock innocence. "No one."

"Really." Lily responded skeptically.

Venois stroked her miniature white kitten and looked at Lily with raised eyebrows. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

Ginger's dimples deepened. "Oh, all right. But don't be mad at me; you asked, remember."

Lily and Venois nodded eagerly.

"Remus Lupin."

Venois gasped and Lily buried her face in her hands. "Ginger, I thought we swore _never_ to like any of the Marauders." She said exasperatedly.

Ginger looked sheepish. "It's not like I planned it out like this."

Venois looked perplexed. "How did you meet him over the summer?"

Ginger laughed, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling. "It was complete coincidence, actually. We were both staying at our relatives' houses, and they happened to be neighbors."

Venois raised her eyebrows suggestively. "It must be fate." She whispered theatrically to Lily with mirth glinting in her violet eyes.

Lily laughed freely, all thought of James gone from her mind.

Looking at Ginger, she shook her head with an exasperated smile.

Ginger was one of those types of people who made you laugh for minutes straight and yet made you want to shake her in frustration because of the things she did, and then made you laugh more because you couldn't do anything to stop her and it was pointless trying so why not laugh. She was adorable, with a childish dimpled smile and continually twinkling eyes. 'An angel from hell' was what Venois called her.

"How true." Lily muttered to herself, turning the page of her Potions textbook to Nostalgia Potions.

Venois overheard her, and turned. "What was that?"

Lily grinned, showing straight white teeth. "Nothing." She settled into her seat leaning back onto the window so she could stretch her legs out on the seat.

Sighing with boredom, she turned to Venois. "How was your summer?"

Venois smiled. "My younger sister and I went to Greece. Actually I have some pictures if you want to see." She pulled a small stack of photos out of her bag. "We went to my aunt and uncles' beach-house." She handed some pictures to Ginger and some to Lily.

Lily flipped through the pictures, watching Venois waving frantically or pretending with her sister to be runway models on an isolated yet beautiful Grecian beach. Lily smiled wistfully, remembering when she had been best buddies with Petunia; they'd had such memorable experiences together that they had always laughed about later. Now, of course, Petunia wanted nothing to do with her.

She turned to look up at Venois, who was reading a "muggle book" as she called it, by Shakespeare. Lily shook her head. She should've known Venois was reading. She was like Lily's twin, separated at birth. They were both constantly studying, but whereas Lily was continually worrying over school, Venois was the kind of person who exuded natural confidence. She had long wavy black hair and striking violet eyes, she was wealthy and everything seemed to go her way. Most people didn't know she actually grew up as an orphan because her parents and two older brothers had been brutally killed when she was only seven years old, forcing her to live in an isolated mansion with a rich grandfather and her younger sister as her only companions. She was sophisticated and fascinating to most people; a mixture of quiet humor and loaded charm, but Lily knew she had hurts that went deep into the past, things she didn't talk about with anyone except Lily.

Venois pulled Lily out of her thoughts. "So, Lils, how was _your_ holiday?"

Lily looked longingly at the pictures one moment longer before dragging her gaze to Venois. She shrugged. "It was all right. I got loads of studying done."

Ginger's head snapped up. "It doesn't sound all right." Her eyes widened.

Lily laughed softly at her reaction. "Well, actually I saw Severus a lot; he studied with me." She sighed. "Petunia hates him though, so we had to study at the park, or else she would burst in on us, calling us possessed freaks and fanatics and all that."

Ginger's eyebrows raised. "I'm not surprised she didn't jump up and down over him. I don't understand how _you_ can be friends with him. He's such a _creep_, all into Dark Magicand stuff."

Lily nodded in agreement, but her defenses rose. "He didn't use to be like that, you know. He just has bad friends and he's into… bad stuff and dark spells, so he's changed… a lot." She added quietly, mostly to herself.

The compartment was silent for a few moments, until Venois broke the silence, her purple eyes twinkling. "Well, enough with the gloominess. Who wants to go find the trolley? I'm in the mood for chocolate."

Lily smiled and shut her textbook with a snap. Immediately, she heard the jingling of the trolley.

Venois looked at her. "Speak of the devil, and he appears... in a candy woman's body." She added as the rosy-cheeked woman appeared at the open compartment door.

James looked out the window, watching the green hillsides and misty lakes rush by until the sunlight waned and the countryside was too dark to be interesting. He looked down at Remus and Sirius who were starting yet another round of Exploding Snap on the floor.

He looked back down at the piece of parchment he was working on, soon to be the "Marauder's Map", as they had previously named it. His eyes were growing bleary, and he adjusted his glasses impatiently before focusing on the words that were writing themselves across the parchment.

Msr. Padfoot thinks you are abnormally conceited to think you can break this code,

Msr. Moony thinks that you should spend less time dreaming about Ms. Evans and more time acting your age,

Msr. Prongs is wondering how an oaf like you ever imagined up such a brilliant object such as this,

And Msr. Wormtail… does not have any thoughts on the matter.

James turned to Peter, who was curled up on the seat, snoring sleepily into the cushion.

"It's done." He announced to Sirius and Remus. "I finally got it to reveal your most insulting thoughts about anyone who is trying to break into the map."

Sirius and Remus turned and scrambled to watch as the Marauder's Map did its magic. "So." James said. "What should we make the password?"

They all paused; looking at last Marauder's sleeping form.

"Oh, let him sleep." Sirius said impatiently, turning back to look at the map.

"What about- Reveal Your Secret?" Remus suggested.

Sirius slapped his shoulder. "You think too much like a teacher, Moony; anyone would guess that. No," He said turning to James, his brown eyes glinting with mischief. He spoke slowly and dramatically, "How about- I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Both James and Remus laughed.

"Done." James said, repeating the words while tapping the parchment. Slowly the map was covered in what seemed like a spider web of ink, and the world of Hogwarts was open to them. Unfortunately, it was quite…

"Empty." Sirius said aloud.

James peered closely at it. "Actually you can see some professors walking around and there are loads of elves in the kitchens."

"But imagine how it will be when it's full." Sirius wiggled his eyebrows. "We can look in on _anyone_."

"Any_time_." Remus added, excitement creeping into his usually calm and quiet voice.

"Any_where_…" James' voice trailed away dramatically. The three Marauders changed conspiratorial looks before Sirius broke the silence.

"Mischief Managed." He said with a smug look in his mischievous eyes.


	3. Buffoons and Betrayal

After everyone had left the feast to settle into their dorms before curfew, James sat with the other Marauders at the otherwise empty Gryffindor table, eating the last of his apple pie. He leaned back on the seat. "Mmm…" he exhaled heavily.

Sirius looked up, his mouth full of chocolate cake. "Bugh ahbedy?"

James laughed, his stomach groaning from the amount of food he had just eaten. "Come again?"

Sirius swallowed abruptly. "Done already?"

James nodded, staring at Peter, who had forgone the use of forks, knives and spoons to shovel dessert into his mouth, instead deciding to revert back to caveman style; using his hands.

Remus leaned against the wall next to the table. He snorted. "I think the real question is: done _yet_?"

James sniggered, standing up. "Come on, Moony. Let's go." He turned to face Sirius and Peter.

Sirius stood quickly, shaking his dark hair out of his eyes. "That's alright. We were leaving anyway." He wiped his hands on Peter's white shirt- leaving marks trailing down his back- and grinned. "All done."

The Marauders made their way out of the hall- Peter still trying to reach over his shoulder to the stains on the back of his shirt- to find three hooded figures standing around a third-year boy in the shadow under the main staircase.

He was sniveling on the stone floor, and James stepped nearer to find out what was going on.

"Little mudblood," one of them said coldly. "Thought you'd get smart on us, didn't you?" the shrill voice sneered.

One of the hooded figures stepped forward. "Levicorpus." A familiar voice entered James' ears.

"Snape." He muttered to himself. Sirius started to rush forward, but James held him back as he noticed the boy levitating in the air; he didn't want Snape to drop him when Sirius barreled into him.

The boy was levitated higher in the air now, shivering with fear as he drifted farther away, higher and higher, until Snape lowered his wand and the boy fell with a crack onto a staircase high above them. He shrieked with fright, and then scurried away up the stairs.

Sirius rushed forward and ripped off all three cloaks, revealing Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and Bellatrix Black.

Sirius stared at her. "Bella. I should've known." he said through gritted teeth.

She sneered at him. "Not that it's any of your business," she said, pushing past him with her shoulder.

James stepped forward to face Snape. "A third year?" He asked tauntingly. "My, my, my. Your standards are dropping lower."

Snape gripped his wand tightly, his knuckles turning white. He whipped out his wand, and then stopped abruptly in the motion, looking up intently at the stone staircase above and across from them. James didn't turn around, refusing to fall for this trick. Snape straightened, relaxing his wand hand to his side.

James stared at him coldly. "Did you want to defend yourself?" he mocked, pulling out his own wand.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lily walking past them. Slowly, he closed his eyes, feeling like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Next time." He muttered through gritted teeth, glaring at Snape.

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Lily opened one of the huge oak doors silently and stepped into the Great Hall, her black robes gliding behind her. The hall was deserted and the only light came from the Great Hall bewitched ceiling that depicted the night sky's pale moon, but the fresh scent of pumpkin, cinnamon and pine filled her as she inhaled deeply. Her mind was immediately brought back to the time when she and Venois first stepped into this hall, along with what had seemed like hundreds of other students.

Flashback

An 11-year-old Venois stood next to Lily, her glossy black ringlets bobbing up and down as she fidgeted in nervousness. She was scanning the crowded hall in what looked like anticipation, until she turned to Lily, her eyes toward the ceiling.

Lily followed her gaze to see a beautiful dark sky with bright stars scattered across. "Amazing," she breathed, pulling her auburn hair out of her eyes.

Venois smiled slightly, her eyes shining happily. She spun slowly, her black robes swirling around her. She stopped gradually, and faced Lily completely. "And the smell…" She inhaled slowly. "… it's like Christmas and parties and family," She sighed, her violet eyes sparkling. "It's like… home."

End Flashback

Lily scanned the dark hall until the sound of a chair scraping against the floor startled her.

"You came." A voice belonging to the dark figure on the chair said. The dark figure stood and began walking slowly toward her.

"I came." Lily replied succinctly.

The dark figure stopped abruptly, the moonlight shining across his facial features. It was Severus Snape. "Are you mad at me, Lily?" He asked quietly.

Lily stepped toward him, closing the distance between them. "_Mad_ at you, Severus?" She asked slowly. "Why would I be _mad_ at you?" Her voice was rising in volume, almost frantic. "You promise me you'll change, and then right when we come back…this." She lost her momentum suddenly, and turned around, breathing heavily.

"Nothing's changed." She said bitterly as she turned around to face him again, more calmly this time. "You're nothing but a bully, like the rest of them."

She began to walk, but Severus caught her arm. "Lily, I'm sorry, I-"

"Sorry was last time, Severus." Lily interrupted heatedly, turning to look at him directly. Her eyes softened as she looked into his eyes. "How can I trust you?" She whispered, her emerald eyes filled with hurt.

Severus let go of her arm and she turned, walking soundlessly out of the Great Hall, a dark figure fading into the night.


	4. Not bad at all

Notes: To MadeNew, FallingRainForever and shetlandlace, thanks for your support. To flowerypetal, your advice is duly noted. The plot definitely hasn't come into play yet. But it's coming. And also, I didn't really know that I wasn't letting anonymous people review or how to fix it- I'm new to this whole fanfic thing.

And about this update, yeah I know, it's really late. And I'm even writing a song about empty promises. I feel like such a hypocrite.

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Lily walked down to the Gryffindor common room with Venois and Ginger to find Professor McGonagall calling out names and giving each student a folder with their schedule and list of responsibilities in it.

The morning light was spilling in through the diamond-cut window panes, and Lily yawned faintly, closely examining the crowd of first years that had a slightly frightened look to them.

"Ginger Laxdale." McGonagall called out, handing Ginger a red folder with the Gryffindor crest emblazoned on it.

She handed one to Venois as well, and they both opened the folder, studying the schedule carefully.

"Lily." Professor McGonagall said, and handed Lily a black leather planner with Lily's name etched in gold script on the top right corner along with the word 'prefect'.

"That book contains a calendar with your prefect duties already written down there." She said. "And don't lose it, because-" She stopped short and smiled down at Lily, her normally stern features softening. "What am I saying; you are not _going_ to lose it."

Lily smiled, and then opened the book carefully as McGonagall turned back to the other students. The first page was a note in handwritten loopy cursive, and Lily sat down on a squashy red and gold armchair, examining the note closely.

Dear Ms. Evans,

To start, congratulations and good luck on your new assignment!

As you learn of your responsibilities, they may not prove to be easy, but rest assured you will be able to conquer all difficulties with the assistance of your partner.

On a more personal note, I have a piece of counsel for you:

Lily, human beings are deep, complex creatures. Many times their hearts are confused, but in most people you will find that they truly are more than meets the eye. Remember, **everyone** deserves a second chance.

I have great hopes in you.

_A__lbus __D__umbledore_

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Lily sat at breakfast in the Great Hall, but her toast lay forgotten as she pored over her responsibilities that were written out in the prefect handbook.

Venois sat next to her with Ginger, looking over their schedules for classes. "It looks like we have Muggle Studies first." Ginger said, and then looked at her wristwatch. "And it starts in ten minutes, so-"she stared pointedly at Lily and Venois. "-we'd better get going."

The classroom for Muggle Studies was in the far East wing of Hogwarts, and as Lily walked through the window-covered halls, she felt refreshed from the rays of light pouring in from the still-rising sun. Shaking her long red hair out of her face, she straightened up and walked taller. "This is going to be a good year." Lily said her voice filled with determination.

Ginger laughed at the look on her face, and Venois looked at Lily quizzically. "Someone's in a good mood." She said.

Lily smiled slightly in reply.

When they reached the class and settled in, Lily pulled out her prefect handbook again, unable to restrain herself from worrying over her new duties.

Venois watched her and laughed, shaking her head at Lily's behavior. "Do you know who the boy prefect is?" She asked Lily as she pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and a new quill.

Lily shrugged. "Probably Remus, he's the most responsib-"

"It _is _Remus." Ginger interrupted with a knowing smile, her dimples appearing as she began to blush.

Venois raised her eyebrows questioningly. "How do you know?" She asked before the understanding immediately dawned on her and she shook her head, looking at Lily with a what-are-we-going-to-do-with-this-girl look on her face.

Professor Avanti, the new Muggle Studies teacher, walked into the classroom, holding a bright orange clipboard in her hands, and looking completely like a muggle, except for the tall neon blue hat that she wore. But apparently this wasn't even to last very long as she stood in front of the class and then, as though she was performing a ceremony, took off her tall pointy witch's hat.

"In this class," She said smoothly, running her hand through her bright pink hair, "we are only, I repeat, _only,_ muggles." She pulled her wand out of the back pocket of her jeans and set it on the desk. "No spells, no incantations, and lastly, no _magic _allowed." She declared.

The classroom was full of students shuffling around to put their wands back in their book bags. Venois looked at Lily with a questioning look as the professor began handing out bright red notebooks and muggle ink pens.

"As you all must realize," Professor Avanti began as she made her way throughout the classroom, "muggles can be very intelligent people, for instance," She pointed her wand at the blackboard, which instantly depicted a chalk illustration of Albert Einstein, George Washington.

She looked around the classroom. "Does anyone know who this is?" She asked.

Lily raised her hand. "Albert Einstein." She said confidently.

Professor Avanti smiled and nodded, her pink hair bobbing slightly. "Correct. As I was saying, they can be intelligent; many scientists have improved living standards, creating electricity, artificial light, and many other innovations, such as civilized government. Most importantly," She looked at the class, her black eyebrows raised, "They do it all _without_ magic." She pointed her wand

"Pair up." She instructed.

Lily hesitantly looked between Venois and Ginger before Ginger wiggled her eyebrows.

"I'm going to find Remus." She said, her light honey-brown eyes sparkling, and stood up, walking to the desk next to Remus and sitting down lightly.

Lily paired up with Venois as Professor Avanti called out the instructions.

"You will find on the first page of this notebook a list of occupations that muggles usually choose. With this list, you will each choose an occupation and create a muggle identity." She looked up. "This can come in handy if you ever need to go undercover as a muggle." She stood up and handed out a paper with all the instructions on it.

Lily read through the paper with Venois, and was already planning her identity when she heard a loud bang was heard from the back of the classroom.

Apparently she wasn't the only one who heard, as the whole class turned to look. Sirius and James both looked up guiltily, the only ones in the class holding their wands. "Accident." Sirius said with wide eyes, looking at Professor Avanti.

She stood up and looked at Lily and Venois. "You," She said, pointing at Lily, "switch with him." She pointed at Sirius.

Lily closed her eyes exasperatedly and stood up with her pen and notebook in hand, trudging to the back of the classroom as Sirius sauntered to the front. The class went back to their assignment and filled with conversation again.

"Hey, Evans." She heard James say casually as she sat down in the desk next to his. She glanced at him. "Hello, Potter." She said curtly.

James scooted his desk so the edge was aligned with hers. "So, what exactly are we supposed to be doing?" He asked with a sheepish grin.

Lily stared at him. "You weren't paying attention at all, were you?"

James shook his head. "Who cares about muggles anyway?" He laughed.

Lily's jaw dropped. "My whole family is made up of muggles." She said coldly, looking him directly in the eyes.

James looked taken aback. "Oh, sorry. I forgot-"

Lily's tense mouth broke into a smile and she laughed, looking at his hesitant expression. "I'm just joking; it doesn't bother me _that_ much." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

James rumpled his hair in relief, a crooked grin spreading across his face as he watched Lily. She straightened the sheet of paper with the instructions on it, and then looked up at him. "So, the assignment…"

James leaned in and studied the list over Lily's shoulder, his grin still in place.

"So," he said, straightening to write down some notes in his red notebook, "I'm going to be an actor, and my name will be…" He looked at her as she waited for his decision, "Renovio Kensington."

Lily gaped at him, the corner of her mouth curving upward into a teasing smile. "An actor?" She asked incredulously.

James looked right back at her. "Of course." He said simply. "With my good looks and natural charm, I should be a hit."

Lily rolled her eyes, stifling a laugh. "Somehow I'm not surprised."

James shifted in his seat mock-indignantly. "Fine then, what are you going to be?"

Lily looked down at her notebook. "My name is Adelaide Hampton and I will be a singer." She answered, her cheeks tinged with a slight blush.

It was James' turn to stare this time. "You can sing professionally?" He grinned, turning to face her completely.

Lily nodded. "I sang on "Britain's Got Talent", but in the middle of the competition I found out I was a witch, and that changed things… well, quite a bit."

James shook his head in amazement, looking at her appraisingly. "Wow." He breathed.

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James walked down the halls to his next class along with the other Marauders, still thinking about his conversation with Lily.

Sirius was babbling about Venois and the assignment in Muggle Studies, before he finally stopped and turned to James. "So Prongs, how'd it go with Evans?"

James grinned. "Not bad."

Peter stumbled next to him. "That's it? Not bad?"He persisted.

James' grin spread wider. "Not bad at all."


	5. Walls

Disclaimer: (Wow, have i not been doing this the whole time? oops.) Yeah, i don't own anything... just a pathetic, drooling fan. well, not really, but whatevs.

Also, my summer has began!! you know what that means... quicker updates!!

Hope you enjoy...

"But you still hate him." Ginger reminded Lily as they walked with Venois down the ha

* * *

lls to the classroom for History of Magic in the East wing.

"Of course I hate him." She answered automatically, her eyes immediately hardening into a solid wall of emerald ice.

Ginger stopped, putting her hands on Lily's shoulders and turning her to face her directly.

"Did it ever occur to you that James Potter might not be such a bad person?"

Lily stared at her for a long moment and took a deep breath. It looked like she was about to say something, but before she could, she exhaled, shrugging Ginger's hands off of her shoulders and walked swiftly past her.

"Not as if I care anyway." She called over her shoulder as she walked down the stone covered hall.

Ginger looked at Venois, who had a faint look of amusement in her violet eyes, laughing at Ginger's baffled expression.

* * *



Professor Binns droned on and on, and Lily felt her head cramping with useless information as she scribbled her notes in her neat handwriting on a scroll of parchment.

She glanced around and looked at Venois in the seat next to her, who seemed to be widening her eyes constantly as though to fight against the overwhelming sense of boredom.

She looked to her left to see Sirius Black, who must've given up any fight against sleep, as his head was horizontal on his desk, his dark brown hair tousled to perfection.

Lily smirked inwardly. If she were a Marauder, this would be the perfect prank moment… But she wasn't, reminded herself quickly, turning back to her notes.

Out of nowhere, a piece of folded parchment fluttered onto her desk. It was a note. She unfolded it curiously.

_I never thought I would see this day. Even perfect Lily Evans knows a prank moment when she sees it._

_-JP_

Lily stared at it in shock. How had he known…? She turned her head to see him looking at her mischievously, and glared at him. Picking up her quill, she quickly wrote on the back-

_You can't make me like you, you know. It's useless trying. -LE_

She put another Flutter charm on the parchment, and didn't look back as she heard James unfolding the paper.

She went back to taking notes on the witch Vercelli's tribe during the Medieval Ages. _Clear and simple. That should be the end of _that_. _She thought with satisfaction.

_Apparently not._ She corrected herself as another piece of parchment fell onto her desk.

She unfolded it, faking annoyance for James' benefit, but inwardly curious.

_Who says I'm trying? -JP_

Lily's breath caught in her throat, and she whipped around and glared at James intensely.

_You know you are. Stop playing games. -LE  
_

_Who's the one playing games? -JP  
_

_What are you talking about? -LE_

_I'm talking about you. You know that you're "not liking me" is all an act. You probably like me just as much as I like you. -JP  
_

_Sorry, no. And it's too bad unrequited love is so foreign to you, but still really not my problem, Potter. We all have to deal with it sometime. -LE  
_

_Ouch. But at least I admit my true emotions. You're just hiding behind a wall. But I'm going to break it down, Lily, just wait. -JP  
_

_Lily almost laughed aloud at this, before replying-_

_I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. -LE_

Lily turned around to look as James read her note. He looked up and the corner of his mouth curved upward into a slight grin as he gazed intently back at her, his chocolate brown eyes mischievous and inquisitive at the same time.

The bell rang shrilly, breaking the monotonous sound of Professor Binns' voice.

Lily turned back around, her hair whipping back as she faced forward again. Her heart was leaping in her chest, and she closed her eyes momentarily before picking up her bag and following Venois out of the classroom.

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Lily climbed up the silvery ladder in the North Tower Divination classroom, thinking about what James had written in his note. As she settled on a bamboo reed mat, (Professor Gregor was teaching them Dream divination), she closed her eyes, lost in thought and drowning in memories.

_Flashback_

_Lily woke up the day of her 10__th__ birthday to see Petunia's face looming over her, her brown eyes happy as she gave Lily a present and told her Happy Birthday._

_Lily's parents walked into her bedroom, her mother's green eyes smiling but weary as she wished her a happy birthday, and her father's charismatic devil-may-care attitude as he called her his little "Lily-flower" and swung her out of her bed onto his shoulders._

_They threw a party for her in the park, and all of her friends came, giving her little presents, just like a normal child's party. She had no suspicion that she would ever be anything different than anyone else at this moment, here with her family, laughing and smiling as the sun shined through the blossoms of the lush green trees. _

_Her father gave her his present, a small delicate gold chain with a locket attached. Inside was a tiny picture of their family. It was a picture caught in a moment when everything was perfect, a moment where everything was beautiful and the world was innocent. Lily put it on and didn't ever want to take it off._

_But the other children left, and after that Lily didn't remember much more. She didn't ever want to remember the crushing fall that came after the climax of surreal happiness. But she did remember glimpses. She remembered that a woman had shown up at their door that afternoon, as the sun was fading away into the sky. The woman was young and blond, with beautiful features and ice cold eyes._

_Lily watched her father's carefree expression torn off his face as he stared at the woman. All she remembered after that was that he turned to Lily and crouched down, pulling her into a crushing embrace. Lily was confused, but as he pulled out of the hug to face her, his chocolate brown eyes were full of regret and shame, and he stroked her hair wordlessly before standing up and walking out, closing the door behind him._

_Lily never wanted to remember the moment that her mother joined her at the window, watching her father driving away. But she did. She remembered everything about it, and it haunted her thoughts and dreams. It wasn't the fading sunset and the sense of loss that haunted her most, but the look in her mother's eyes. Her emerald green eyes- a mirror image of _

_Lily's- no longer held happiness and mirthful spark, but instead were pierced with betrayal and hurt, holding a dimmed hopelessness, like a light had just gone out in her eyes, just as a light had gone out in Lily's life._

_End Flashback_

Lily woke up with a start as Venois shook her gently. Her eyes were wet for some reason, and she wiped them quickly before looking up at Venois.

Venois turned to Lily, her deep purple eyes tinged with concern as she looked at Lily.

"Are you all right?" She whispered as Lily settled into the right Divination Hypnosis position before Professor Gregor reached them to inspect their work.

Lily blinked and looked away. "I'm fine." She answered softly.


	6. Through my eyes

Lily walked in the dewy grass from the Herbology greenhouse back to the castle with Venois, Ginger and Alice Longbottom, still thinking about her flashback in Divination.

Ginger nudged her out of her reverie, looking at her pointedly.

"So, what did Professor Gregor 'interpret' from your flashback-ish thingy?"

Lily laughed at her wording, and then sobered. She shrugged, ripping a twig out of her uniform red and gold plaid skirt. "Not much." She said vaguely.

That wasn't exactly true. He'd said that her dream meant that she had a fear of betrayal, and if she didn't overcome this emotional obstacle she would possibly have a fear of any type of emotionally involved relationship as well. Of course she wasn't exactly keen on divulging her dream in the first place, so the interpretation was hard to explain to her friends.

They turned the corner from the courtyard into the Great Hall. The ceiling was letting down tiny droplets of sparkling rain that evaporated just before they hit the Great Hall's occupants.

"Not much? That's all?" Venois persisted as they sat down at the long mahogany Gryffindor table.

Lily hesitated, and then nodded her head. "That's all."

Professor McGonagall stood at the Head's table, clinking her crystal goblet with her fork. "I have an announcement to make." She said importantly, adjusting her spectacles.

The hall silenced.

"There is to be a Masked Ball a fortnight and a half away, on October the thirtieth, the night of Halloween."

The hall was suddenly filled with gasps and whispers, and Lily herself felt a rush of excitement as Ginger looked at her with a gleeful expression.

"Only fourth years and older are to attend, unless of course a younger student is invited by an older student." She said sternly, her eyes full of warning as they peered over her spectacles.

She sat down at the Head's table again, and the hall immediately was filled the noise of students talking excitedly.

Venois nudged Lily. "Who are you going with?"

Lily shrugged, running her fingers through her long auburn hair as she surveyed the male population of Hogwarts.

"I don't know. We've got three weeks to be asked though." She said with an indifferent laugh, settling down into the dinner that had magically appeared on her plate. She swallowed and looked up at Venois, who was still looking around the Hall, looking for a potential Ball date. "How about you?"She asked, noticing Venois eyeing the Marauders.

Venois turned to Lily. "I think I'll just wait and see who asks." She replied evasively.

* * *

The following week was a blur. James went from one classroom to the next, finding himself at the end of the day piled in loads of homework. Whenever James saw Lily, he wanted to ask her to the ball, but he held himself back. Sirius had told him to wait, give her time to feel nervous over going dateless. This strategy wouldn't have worked, except James had threatened every boy who had thought about asking her to the ball.

One morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Zeya, a dark-eyed Haitian man, announced that they would be practicing the art of Legilimency in class.

"Pair up, all." He said in his low, smooth- and yet commanding- voice.

The students quickly stood up, shuffling into pairs. Professor Zeya walked through the classroom, his dark red robe gliding behind him as he positioned each of the students across from each other to face their opponents.

"You will find that the connection between you and your opponent lies in the eyes." He looked around the classroom, his dark eyes gleaming as he stared intently at each of the students.

"Thus, follow the incantation written on the board, and concentrate, focusing all your energy into your partner's eyes."

James stood across from Sirius, staring into his dark brown eyes. He glanced up at the blackboard to see the word _Legilemens _written on it. He turned back to Sirius, staring intently in his eyes, gripped his wand tight and muttered- "Legilemens."

The connection was almost electric. It felt as though James was zooming into Sirius' eyes with binoculars. At first he saw only the jagged color of brown in Sirius' irises, and then his mind was filled with flashing images...

He saw a pale, dark-haired woman with glinting black eyes, heard her voice shouting shrilly in his ears painfully, until the hazy image of a young girl with striking violet eyes loomed into James' vision…

Suddenly his mind was filled with memories that weren't his; pictures that he had never seen unfolding into stories. _A cloudy autumn day, a leafless, almost skeletal tree in a field, a dark room with a sharp, sickening feeling of loneliness, watching green lightening shooting from the windows of a dark mansion…_

A voice interrupted James' thoughts. "That will be enough." Professor Zeya tapped James' arm urgently, pulling him out of Sirius' mind.

James jerked back violently, pulling out of Sirius' thoughts as quickly as he had gotten in.

He turned to look at Professor Zeya, breathing heavily.

Professor Zeya had his hand on Lily's shoulder, but he was looking at James curiously. "Very good." He said.

"You both were the only two who were able to do it on the first try. I want to see how you do against each other." He motioned for Sirius to pair up with Venois as Lily stood across from James.

James couldn't even muster up a grin at Lily; his mind was so stunned at the fresh intake of Sirius' memories and thoughts.

Lily stared at James, her emerald green eyes flickering challengingly. James was about to ask who was going first, but before he could, he saw her moving her lips and the next thing he knew, he couldn't move his eyes away from her intense fiery gaze. It was as though a hot magnetic force was keeping him prisoner to her piercing green eyes.

Images, thoughts, and memories belonging to James flooded his mind… _A blue sky and an endless green field, soaring over through clouds on a sleek broomstick… wind blowing through his hair… a smiling man with startling blue eyes giving him his first wand…a lovely young girl with light blond hair and piercing blue eyes, smiling, laughing… the memories grew darker suddenly, and the girl's eyes were clouded with fear and anxiety…_

James shifted uncomfortably, trying to block the disturbing images from coming. He straightened, shaking off the feeling of invaded privacy. The effect was immediate, the situation suddenly reversed, and suddenly James found himself viewing memories and images he had never seen, memories of Lily's…

_A man with tousled hair and laughing brown eyes, a delicate gold locket dangling from the pool of a gold chain coiled in the palm of his hand… a desolate park bench with a young black-haired boy in an oversized smock and an unhealthily pale face, looking beseeching with sad dark eyes… a woman with sorrowful emerald green eyes…a invasive sense of helplessness and betrayal… the same man with chocolate brown eyes, now regretful and then cold, turning away slowly, closing a door behind him as the world came to a crashing halt…_

James felt his mind being cleared of memories suddenly, as though Lily was pushing him away from her mind. His vision was suddenly refocused, and after a few moments he saw the dimly lit classroom surrounding him once again.

"Extraordinary." Professor Zeya said, staring intently back and forth between Lily and James. "First time Legilemens and you're both already blocking each other out, refusing to admit entrance."

James looked at Lily, his mind reeling at the new images in his head. He tried to catch her eye, but she seemed to be avoiding his gaze. He thought for a moment he might have seen a tear glistening on her cheek, until she brushed it off and straightened, putting on a forced smile at Professor Zeya.

Professor Zeya looked at Lily and James. "I would like you both to remain partners while you are in this class. Is that acceptable?" He looked at Lily, who opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it quickly again, glancing at James briefly.

"Yes, sir." She replied quietly as James nodded.

Professor Zeya straightened and turned to face the students around the room. "That will be all. Class dismissed."

* * *

**Okay, the next chapter is going to have some Venois/Sirius action, and of course continue with James/Lily development…. And I'm finally getting the plot figured out! But this might turn out to be a really long fic… **

**And one more thing: It's not like I'm writing just for reviews, but they do a lot to keep me motivated, so just press that purple button and say something! Anything! thx**


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